Garden Of Eden
by NotThisPlanet
Summary: He sought solitude. He found something else.


He couldn't explain it, but the paranoia was blinding. They're all out to get you. They're laughing at you behind your back. You're a charity case, not a friend. The thoughts kept accumulating until he couldn't originate the truth. One by one he separated himself from the group.

Jade was the first and the easiest by far. She made one of her regular snarky comments and Robbie used it to his advantage. One faked freak-out later and Robbie sat at another table by himself while the others threw concerned glances in his direction.

Beck was next, he approached Robbie trying to apologise for Jade's actions. Beck wasn't prepared for his apology to be thrown back into his face. Pride injured Beck retreated, the tenuous neutrality he had developed between Robbie and Jade was shattered and he had no choice but to side with his girlfriend.

Cat and Andre came as a pair, they sat down either side of him and tried to gently probe the reasons for his current behaviour. A particularly vicious comment from Rex was all it took to dissuade Cat and one mocking impression of Andre's grandma scored Robbie a black eye.

Tori had been the last and also the most persistent. She badgered Robbie constantly day and night, relentless attempt to try and draw him back into their clique. Robbie eventually turned his phone off just to stem the flow of calls and text messages.

The battle of Robbie and Tori finished fairly anticlimactically. In the end it was a war of attrition that got Robbie his victory. It took a while but every day the texts were shorter and the calls were less frequent until they stopped coming all together.

Nobody approached Robbie anymore, it was him and Rex the amazing duo. Robbie thought he'd finally got what he'd wanted, no more looking over his shoulder. For a while everything was fine, he attended class, participated when needed and talked quietly with Rex during lunch. The solitude was a blanket of safety and the voices in his head were muted.

Rex's voice became more prominent each day, a snide comment ready for each and every person they encountered. Robbie's popularity was the lowest it had ever been. Bullies now had free range and took full advantage of it. The more Robbie was persecuted the more entrenched his need for solitude became until one day he didn't bother showing up for school.

When he'd found it, a rare smile drew across his face that brightened his whole expression. This was the place where he could finally be free.

He called it Eden for that's what it was, a sanctuary from evil where he was safe from the darkness. In reality Eden was a tiny forgotten park bench surrounded by trees with weeds and vines in all directions. Robbie came to Eden each and every day, eventually the school had phoned his house to try and get an explanation. It was useless, no one was home. No one was ever home. After repeated attempts to make contact Hollywood Arts removed Robbie's data from the system and just like that he was gone.

Robbie found it was remarkably easy to obtain a gun. One shady back alley deal and he had a six chamber revolver with a box of bullets tucked away in his bag in no time. He didn't know why the voices wanted him to have it, but if it shut them up for a while then who was he to complain. Robbie had to admit there was a certain sense of power to be felt carrying a weapon capable of reducing someone's head into mincemeat.

It started somewhat innocently at first, Robbie had brought the revolver with him to Eden and while idly rolling the chamber around he got the urge to place it in his mouth. He sat like that for a few minutes, finger on the trigger until he slowly withdrew it, made sure it was safe and placed it back in the concealed holster he'd managed to buy.

In short order it became routine. Each day Robbie would wake up, get dressed and if he remembered have something to eat. Then he would make his way to Eden draw his gun and place it back in his mouth. The feeling was something Robbie would never be able to describe, a serene calmness that was like floating. As soon as that taste of metal hit his tongue, the voices stopped and in the sullied Garden of Eden he stayed like that for hours each day.

Robbie didn't bring the puppet everywhere he went anymore. He didn't need it, Rex had found it quite comfortable in his head and was strong enough that the wooden doll was no longer required.

Whenever Robbie wasn't in Eden doing his "daily prayers" as he called them he was with Rex.

Rex was much more assertive than Robbie so when he ate, he ate what Rex wanted to eat. When he watched TV it was Rex choosing the channels and when he went to bed it was Rex regaling him with horror stories of the cruelty of others.

Rex didn't like Robbie's prayer sessions, he hated not being the centre of attention in Robbie's head and being completely ousted even if only for a few hours was not something he enjoyed. The first time Rex took control was on the way home from one such session. As he was taking a shortcut through an alley that cut the travel time in half Robbie was accosted by a mugger.

The man was large and dirty with a vicious expression, he gestured tauntingly with his knife while demanding everything Robbie had on him. Rex was screaming in his head telling him to shoot the bastard who thought he could threaten them. Robbie had just finished handing over his wallet, keys and watch when the man raised his knife dangerously.

Rex refused to die to this piece of scum and asserted control reaching for the gun strapped to the side of their belt concealed under his shirt. Before the mugger had drawn the knife back fully he had a gun cocked and ready to fire aimed directly into his face. There was silence as the man dropped the knife knowing he was outplayed. Rex revelled in the power he had now obtained, one twitch of a finger and this man would be a corpse.

A minute past and tears silently ran down the muggers face, he begged and pleaded saying he had a wife and kid and had lost his job. When Rex asked for the name of his child he received only a sputter of words and then more silence and that was enough to make him sneer. Another minute had passed and Rex had finally decided what punishment the man would receive. Without any word of warning Rex fired two shots into each of the man's kneecaps before collecting his stolen items and making his way home. The sound of the man's cries followed, fading with each step.

When Robbie was finally returned control he threw up what little was contained in his stomach. The deep fear he'd felt for people had now been reflected back at himself. How could he stay safe when even his own body plotted against him?

Robbie quickly made his way to Eden early that day. He made sure to take the detour around the alley. He sat down on the bench and raised the gun to his mouth. Rex implored him to reconsider, asked him how he could be so selfish. It wasn't just him living in this body after all. Quickly biting down on the gun Rex's voice was instantly silenced and so began Robbie's last prayer.

Time passed. Robbie wasn't sure if it had been hours or minutes but in one moment he gathered all his misery, courage and desperation and pulled the trigger.

Click.

Robbie removed the gun and looked it over to find six empty bullet chambers while Rex cackled in the background.

Rex was amused, did Robbie really think he'd let Robbie take away what was his.

This was his place now and he was here to stay.


End file.
